Cigarette case time lock device



June 10, 1958 L. F. HALLING ETAL 2,837,907

CIGARETTE CASE TIME LOCK DEVICE Filed May 18, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORJ'. LOUIS F HALL/N6 B mvo RODERICK 6 NE WELL ATTORNEY i June 10, 1958 1.. F. HALLING ET AL CIGARETTE CASE TIME LOCK DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 18, 1955 '''II" "I'I'I'II'I'I'I'I' "I'I'II'I'II'I'I'I'I'IJ Ha 11- INVENTORS.

LUU/S l: HALL/N6 BY AND RODER/UK G NEWELL Arm/ME) CIGARETTE CASE TIME LGCK DEVICE Louis F. Hailing, Rochester, and Roderick G. Nowell, Canandaigua, N. Y.

Application May 18, 1955, Serial No. 509,242

3 Claims. (Cl. 70267) The present invention relates generally to cigarette cases and more particularly to a cigarette case having timing means for regulating'the intervals at which the case may be opened.

At the present time, there is considerable concern over the adverse effects caused by the smoking of cigarettes. Many medical authorities consider that excessive cigarette smoking is injurious to the smokers health. On the other hand, many of the same authorities also agree that cigaret'te smoking is not harmful to health if used in moderation.

The primary problem with the moderate use of tobacco, and particularly cigarettes, is the inability of the average smoker to properly. regulate his smoking habit so that he will only smoke a certain numberv of cigarettesin a given period of time, such as a day. For instance, if

a smoker decides to smokeonly a dozen cigarettes a day, he will have to limit himself to less than one cigarette perhour. If he inadvertently smokes several cigarettes in a short period of time, such as in the hour after breakfast, then his late morning, afternoon and evening smoking will have to be greatly curtailed, or else thesmoker will have to raise his quota of cigarettes for that day.

One object of the present invention is to provide means with'whicha smoker can easily regulate the number of cigarettes which he will smoke in a given period of time.

Another objectof this invention is to providea cigarette case having a time-lock incorporated therein so that,

after the case has been opened, a cigarette removed, and then closed again, the case is locked and closed and cannot be reopened for the removal of another cigarette until a predetermined period of time has elapsed.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cigarette case having a time-lock which can be quickly and easily adjusted to set its timing interval.

Still further objects of this invention are to provide a cigarette case having atime-lock mechanism of simple construction, so that the case. and time-lock can be manuiactured in volume. at low cost.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent hereinafter from the. specification and from a the recital of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the body and cover-of a. cigarette case constructed. according to one embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale of the time-lock mechanism used in this case for locking the cover tozthe case body, a part of the spring strap forming thecatch of this time-loci: being broken away to show more clearly the timing bladder, the parts being shown in positions similar to that shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is vertical section taken mid-way through the cigarette case showing-the cover locked to the case body,

andshowing the time luck at the start of its timing cycle;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3,

looking in the direction of the arrows, and illustrating how 2,83, 7,90? Patented June 10, 1958 ice the timer is automatically set in operation when the cover is placed on the case body;

Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 3 but showing the time-lock in releasable position at the end of its timing cycle;

Fig. 6 is a similar section showing the time-lock unlatched from the case body and the cover partially removed;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary, vertical section taken midway through a cirgarette case and its cover, the cover being provided with a time-lock mechanism constructed according to another embodiment of this invention, and the cover being shown removed;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, vertical section through this cigarette case and cover, the cover being shown mounted on the case and with the'timing mechanism at the start of its timing cycle;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 but showing thhe timer at the end ofa working cycle;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the bladders used in.

this second form of time-lock mechanism and the dual hoses which connect th'em; an'd' Fig. 11 is a section taken on the line l1lll of Fig. 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to. the drawings by numerals of reference and first to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-6 inclusive, 21 denotes the body or bottom portion, and 22 the top or cover of a'ciga-rette case made according to one embodiment of the invention. The two parts of the case may be made of plastic, aluminum or some other light, easily fabricated material. The body 21 is adapted to receive and hold afull'pack of cigarettes in the original package, but the package will be torn open at the top to permit access to the cigarettes.

The body 21 of the. case has a forward wall 24, a rear wall 25, two side walls 27 and 28 and a bottom wall 3%. The side wall 28 is of reduced height as compared to side wall 27; and the front and rear walls 24 and 25 are of the same height as wall 28 for the major portions of their widths and for the rest'34 and 35 of their widths are. of considerably greater height, rising to the height of the wall 27. The top edges 29 of the higher portions 34 and 35 of walls 24 and 25 are inclined downwardly at a :slightanglefrom the top of side wall 27. The top edges of wall 28 and of the major portions of walls 24 and 25 are parallel to base 30.

Side 28 of the cigarette case body has a small, rectangular keeper-hole 38 therein. Side 27 has an elongate vertical slot 36 therein, extending downwardly for a considerable portion of the height of the body as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

The cover or closure 22 of the case fits snugly over case body 21. Inside it is mounted a time-lock mechanism 40 (Fig. 2) which is connected to the top of the closure by rivets 42; The frame. of the time-lock mechanism is made from a single strip of springstrap metal. The strip is formed with a horizontal central portion 44, and is bent downwardly at opposite sides of the central portion 44 to form downwardly inclined base portions 45, is then bent upwardly to form sides 46, then inwardly to form top. portions 47 and finally is bent downwardly and in wardly to form pressure spring arms 48. The width of the timer frame is approximately equal to the space between walls 24 and 25 of body-21 except that the spring arms 48 have outwardly projecting ears or tabs 49 (Figs. 2 and 4) which are adaptedto project over the walls 24 and 25 of'th'e. body portion of the cigarette case so that they may rest on the top edges 29 of the walls. The width of. the timer frame measured at the tabs 49 is, however, less than the distance inside cover 22 between its front and rear walls so that the cover may readily be placed on and removed from the body portion of the case.

Interposed between the spring portions 46 and the base portions of the frame are two bladders 50. These bladders, which are made of rubber, plastic, or some other flexible, water-tight material, are connected to each other through a flexible tube 54. The bladders are filled with a liquid, such as alcohol or water, which is adapted to pass from one bladder to the other bladder through the tube 54. As will be described hereinafter, the time required for the liquid to flow from one bladder to the other is utilizedto control the time-locking of the closure 22 on body 21 of the cigarette case. One bladder is filled when the cover is put on the body of the case; and until that bladder is emptied by flow of the liquid from that bladder to the other through tube 54, the cover cannot be removed from the case, as will be described further hereinafter.

Tube 54 passes beneath a tab formed by striking up and reversely bending a strip from the central portion 44 ofthe timer frame (Fig. 2). Tab 55 is provided with a small hole through which the tube passes. An adjustable, regulating screw 57, that threads into the central portion 44 of the timer frame, is adapted to squeeze tube 54 against tab 55 to regulate the rate of flow of the liquid from one bladder'to the other. Therefore, merely by tightening up on screw 57 or loosening it, the rate at which liquid may flow through the duct can be easily regulated.

The sides 46 of the time-lock frame are slightly spaced from the adjacent sides of cover 22 (Figs. 3, 5 and 6). Each side 46 is slit to provide a flexible arm 53. The arms 58 are formed so that in their upper portions they tend to curve inwardly relative to sides 46, then they are bent sharply outwardly as denoted at and then downwardly at 61; and each arm terminates in an upwardly directed catch portion 62. Each arm 58 tends resiliently to move outwardly. The catches 62 are adapted to be engaged alternately in hole 38 to lock the cover 22 to body 21 of the case.

Closure or cover 22 carries a pair of release pins 64 which are mounted to slide through opposite side walls of the closure. Each pin 64 has an enlarged rounded head at its inner end which engages one of the arms 58 so that it is normally pressed outwardly. By pressing a pin inwardly, however, the associated arm 58 may bepressed inwardly to release associated catch 62 providing the associated bladder 50 will permit release of the catch as will be described below.

The manner in which the timing mechanism operates the keeper-hole 38 is at the left as shown in Fig. 3, then the cover 22 will be positioned so that its full bladder 50 is also at the left as shown in this figure. As the closure is pressed downwardly over body 21, the catch 62, which is at the left, will ride down over the upper edge of wall 28 which may be sloped inwardly as shown, and when the catch 62 registers with the keeper-hole 38, it will snap into that slot, locking the cover 22 to body 21. The catch 62 at the right hand side of the timer'frame at this time, however, is not in engagement with body 22 for it is in slot 36 of wall 27. The downward movement of closure 22, however, does cause the upper edges 29 of portions 34 and 35 of walls 24 and 25 toengage the projecting tabs 49 of spring arm '48 at the right of the timer frame (Figs. 3 and 4) and forces this spring arm upwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 shows the cover 22 looked to the body 21 of the case. When the parts are in the positions shown in this figure, the catch 62 at the left, which is in locking position, cannot be released, for spring arm 48 is long enough to prevent the user from pushing the left-hand spring-arm 58 inwardly far enough to disengage this catch. Spring arm 43 at the left presses continuously downwardly on the associated bladder 50 at the left, however, and gradually forces the liquid contained in this bladder from this bladder through tube 54 and into the other bladder 54) at the right. The rate at which the liquid will flow from the left-hand bladder to the righthand bladder will depend upon the bore of the tube 54 and the adjustment of screw 57.

As long as there is suflicient liquid in the left hand bladder 50 to hold left-hand spring-arm 48 above the ledge portion 60 of the left-hand catch-arm S8, closure 22 will be locked on body 21. This catch cannot be disengaged by pressing left-hand button 64 inwardly until the extreme end of left-hand spring drops below ledge 60 of the left-hand catch arm.

As the liquid flows from the left hand bladder to the right hand bladder, however, left hand spring arm 48 gradually moves downwardly. When the left hand spring arm 48 has dropped below the ledge portion 60 (Fig. 5) of the left-hand catch arm 58, the left hand pin 64 may be pressed inwardly by the user to disengage catch 62. Then the cover 22 may be lifted off the body 21 (Fig. 6) to permit removal of a cigarette from the case. Fig. 5 shows the left-hand spring arm 48 just about to reach a position where the left-hand pin 64 can be pressed to disengage left-hand catch 62. Fig. 6 shows the cover being lifted off body 21.

After extracting a cigarette, the smoker turns closure 22 180 to shift the now full bladder at the right to the left. He then places the closure on body 21 and presses it downwardly until the catch 62, which was previously at the right, but which is now at the left, engages slot 38. Now, once again, the cover may not be removed until the liquid passes from the left to the right hand bladder. The time required for the flow of liquid from the left hand to the right hand bladder again determines when the cover may be removed to permit the smoker access to a cigarette.

It will thus be seen, that a positive control is exercised over the smoker, limiting his consumption of cigarettes. If a smoker wishes to smoke, for example, one cigarette per hour he merely adjusts screw 57 to set the proper rate of flow of the liquid from one bladder to the other so that the cover cannot be removed from the case, once it has been locked thereon, until an hour has expired. Other time intervals can be set by other adjustments of the screw 57. The proper timing cycle can readily be obtained by a little experiment.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 7-11 turning of the cigarette case closure 180 after each opening of the case is rendered unnecessary. For the timing operation, liquid passes from one bladder to another in the same manner as previously described. However, when the closure of the case is removed, the liquid is fast-fed back to the bladder in which it was originally contained. It is this feature which obviates turning the closure 180.

In this embodiment of the invention, the walls of the body portion 71 of the case are all of the same height. The rear wall of the body is denoted at 75 and the two side walls are designated 77 and 78, respectively. Wall 77 has a small catch-slot or keeper-hole 79 therethrough.

Case body 71 has a closure 72 which fits snugly onto it. Closure 72 is similar to closure 22 previously described except that it has an integral, central depending portion 76 (Fig. 9) which serves a purpose hereafter described.

A time-lock mechanism 80 is mounted in closure 72, being connected thereto by rivets 82. The frame of the time-lock is made from a single strip of spring strap metal formed with a horizontal central portion 84. At opposite sides of portion 84 the 'strip-zis.-bentfdownwardly toform base portions .85, '85 'then bent'aupwar'dly' and lsliglitly inwardly to form sides 86, 86', then bent inwardly'ag'ain to formtop portions 87, 87', and finally bent downwardly and inwardly to form spring arms 88 and-88's" The timer frame has a width slightly less than the space between the front and rear walls of the ,cigarette case body 71, except for'itsspringarr'n 88', which is formed with laterally projectinguabstnot shown), like .tabs 49 of" the first-describedembodiment of the invention, which are adapted to-engage the .top edge of the case body when closure 72 is in pladdgbnjthe interposed between the spring 88 and 88', fandthe respective base portions 85 "and 85 associatedwith'the two arms are bladders 90 and 9023', :These are connected to each other by parallel tubes 92' and 94, (Fig. ,10),,,one

of which, 92; serves as'a fast-return duct and, "the' other of which, 94, serves as a timing-duct. I

Tube 94 passes beneath a tab 95 formed by upwardly and inwardly turning a part of centralportion 84 of the timer frame (Fig. 11). A screw 96 is adjustably threaded into central portion 84 to engage tube 94. The tube is thus squeezable between screw 96 and tab 95; and by tightening or loosening the screw the rate at which liquid may flow through this tube can be regulated. Tube 92 is interposed between the surface of central portion '84 of the timer frame and depending lug 76 of the closure.

As shown in Fig. 7,

the sides 86, 86' of the timer frame engage the adjacent sides of closure 72. Side 86 is slit,

like the sides 46 of the first described embodiment of the invention, to form a spring arm 98. The arm 98 is formed in a manner similar to arms 58, of the first-described embodiment and has an angular ledge portion 100, and'a catch 102.at its free end. 1 l

Closure 72 carries a release pin 104 which is mounted in a hole in one side wall of the closure and is slidable V therein. Pin 104 has a head portion 105 on its inner end which engages arm 98. p l

The manner in which the closure 72 is timelocked to body 71 of the cigarette case will now be described.

When the closure 72 is removed from body 71 the parts of the timing mechanism are as shown in Fig. 7. As soon as the cover 72 is lifted away from the body 71, the spring arm 88 is freed to exert its pressure on bladder 90. Spring portion 88 is made stronger than spring portion 88, and therefore exerts a greater pressure on bladder 90 than does spring portion 88 on bladder 90. If the cover 72 is held in the users hand a few seconds, then bladder 90 becomes full of liquid and bladder 90 at thevleft, is

' substantially emptied.

The upper case or closure 72 is adapted to be mountedon the lower case 71 with the side which carries release pin 104 in registerwith that side of the lower case 71 that has catch-slot 79. As the closure is pressed downwardly on the case body, the upper edge of the lower case first engages the catch 102 and causes the spring catch arm 98 to be sprung inwardly. Then, top edges of the sides of the lower case engage sides 86 and 86 of the timer frame between portion 84 of the timer frame and depending member '76 of the closure, closing off hose 92. The upper edge of the lower case also engages the lateral, projecting edges of spring member 88' and forces this spring member upwardly, to relieve the pressure on bladder 90' (Fig. 8). When the closure 72 is fully seated on the lower case catch 102 snaps into engagement with catch-slot 79 to lock the cigarette case closed. Spring portion 88 now holds arm 98, against inward movement, and until arm 88 moves down below ledge 100, release pin 104 cannot be pressed in to unlatch catch 102.

springportion 88' and since spring portion 88 is now held in its upper position (Fig. 8), seated on the upper edges of the case, spring portion 88, which is narrow enough to pass between the front and rear walls of the lower case, ,acts against bladder and forces the liquid contained therein through duct 94 and into bladder 90'. The rate at-which the liquid will be transferred from bladder 90 to bladder 90 is regulated by the bore of tube 94 and by adjustment of screw 96. When suflicient liquid has been transferred from bladder 90 to bladder 90' for spring portion 88 to pass ledge ofarm 98, pin 104 may be pressed in to force catch 102 out of slot 79 and unlock closure 7 2. 1

When closure 72 is removed in order to remove a cigarette from the body of the cigarette'case, sides-86 and 86 of the timer frame spring back into engagement with the side walls of the closure. As this occurs, central portion 84 of the timer frame drops to the position shown in Figs. 7 and 11, opening duct 92. Spring portion 88', which is no longer held up by the top edge of the lower case, and which has much greater strength than spring 88, then acts upon bladder 90' subjecting it to a compressing force. The liquid in bladder 90 is thus fast-fed through nowopen duct 92 and back into bladder 90. In just a matter of seconds, the timing mechanism switches from the endof-cycle position shown in Fig. 9 back to the beginning of the cycle position shown in Fig. 7. Therefore, in the time required to remove a cigarette from the case, the liquid is transferred back to bladder 90. When the closure is again placed on the case, then, the device is ready for another cycle.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that applicant has provided a cigarette case having a timing mechanism of relatively simple construction which, therefore, can be manufactured at low cost. Further, applicants invention provides a simple means by which a smoker can regulate his or her smoking habits.

While this invention has been described in connection with two different embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention, following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention what we claim l. A container, a closure for said container, a detent for releasably locking said closure to said container, and means preventing release of said detent until elapse of a predetermined time interval, comprising a bladder adapted to be filled with a liquid, a second bladder, a duct connecting the two bladders so that liquid may flow from one to the other, means controlling the rate of such flow, and a spring member constantly pressing on the first-named bladder, and having a portion which will prevent release of said detent until a predetermined .amount of liquid has flowed from the first bladder to the second.

v2. A container, a closure for said container, a detent releasably locking said closure on said container, and means for preventing opening of said closure until a predetermined time has elapsed, comprising a pair of bladders adapted to be filled with liquid, a pair of ducts connecting said bladders, a timing spring operable against one of said bladders to force liquid out of said one bladder through one of said ducts into the other bladder, a return spring operable against the other of said bladders to force the liquid out of said other bladder through the other duct into said one bladder, said return spring having a force greater than said timing spring, means for closing off said other duct and for moving said return spring to inoperable position when said closure is mounted on said container, said timing spring prevent- Since bladder 90 is no longer being compressed by 75 in; release of said detent until a portion of the liquid apamom has passed from said one bladder to said otherbladder, said return spring being operative to rapidly return said liquid to said one bladder through said other duct when said closure'is opened, and means for regulating the ra of'flow of liquid from onebladder to the other.

- 3. A container, a closure for said container, a detent for rel'easably locking said closure to -said container, and means for preventing release of said 'detent until a predetermined time interval has elapsed, comprising a pair of bladders adapted to be filled with liquid, a {duct connecting said bladders, a pair-of springs normally operable to press against said bladders, means on said container for moving one of said springs *to inoperative position when said closure is in container-closing position, the other of said springs thereupon forcing liquid from the associated bladder and into the other bladder, said other spring being positioned so as to interfere with and prevent movement of said detent to released position until 7 a pmdetemlinedmnotint of liquid has flowed into said sbihdribladfllrm andzmeans for regulating the rate ofiflpw-fdfiliquiflf 

